The 100 Urban Entrepreneurs of Atlanta, along with Clark Atlanta University and the Atlanta Development Authority, recently hosted an instructional symposium entitled “Devising the Perfect Business Plan.”
The evening’s moderator Amber Saunders opened the session with a discussion of the nonprofit organization’s background and explained there would be more educational events following the inaugural workshop. 100 UE’s mission is to educate young business people and supporting minority entrepreneurship, by securing knowledgeable, energetic and charismatic speakers to demonstrate how to devise and present a winning business plan.
The two-hour event was free and afforded attendees an opportunity to submit business plans for review and feedback.
100UE seeks to provide an economic boost to America’s urban communities by awarding $10,000 start-up grants and eight weeks of intensive business mentoring to budding businesses. To expand on its mission, 100UE is set to open a center in Atlanta that will lend itself as a new type of business incubator — one in which urban entrepreneurs can work closely with mentors, investors, peers and potential customers to develop and launch at least three new businesses per year. The business incubator will be equipped with a shared office space, media lab, courses and events.
Following are key comments from panelists:
“A small business that forms an entity rather than being a sole practitioner is usually done for two reasons. One is the liability protection that the law provides and is not available to an individual. Two is to have a structure and governance for moving forward that will attract future investors. There are a few different types; a limited liability corporation (LLC), a C Corporation and an S Corporation.” –Scott Bryant, attorney, Siavage Law Group
“When I first got into business, I didn’t write a plan. However, my second business, Empower Me! has grown to a scale bigger than I thought it would be. As long as you start sitting down and mapping out what your business will be, you will have direction when you write the actual plan. Make sure you have an executive summary, where you see your company going. It’s very important to have your marketing strategy and operations strategy and to know your competition. All of those components need to be in your business plan especially if you are seeking funding.” –Adrienne Graham, serial entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Empower Me! Corporation
“You have to put in the executive summary how much money you want. I have financed well over 600 businesses over the years. The first thing I do when I receive a business plan is look at the executive summary. It needs to be short and to the point, mentioning management, the concept and strategy of the business and what separates you from everybody else. There are two different types of business plans –one for funding and the other for internal development.” –Lonnie Abdul Saboor, manager of Small Buisness & Industrial Finance, Atlanta Development Authority
–yvette caslin (photos by Eric Black)
